Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Lamentation - Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday

In usual years, this Holy Wednesday means I gather with my congregation for a Service of Healing in the evening. It's based on the Orthodox tradition of offering ourselves for healing in body, mind, and spirit as we prepare to encounter Christ in the Triduum, the Three Holy Days, and welcome the transforming love we witness in these liturgies.

Because of the Coronavirus and the love we are all showing our neighbors, we are staying healthy at home this year and gathering in spirit and in love. I can't say there isn't tremendous loss for me in this. While I know we are absolutely doing the correct thing to flatten the curve and to make sure medical care is available for all who will need it during this pandemic, I am also grieving the gathering in solemn prayer, the beautiful hymns and anthems of our choir, the visual grandeur that the floral guild and altar guild create for each service, and mostly, the gathering of God's people.

This Holy Week reminds me God is the God who loves us enough to hold our laments, just as a parent holds a distressed child who cannot be comforted because life is too much and the feelings are too big to be easily fixed.

So we weep, and we lament, and we sit in this place.

And we pray with Jesus, who understands and welcomes it all.

The service for Holy Wednesday, featuring the Lamentations of Jeremiah chanted with intercessions in a time of pandemic prayed, is included, as well as the services for Holy Week at Home for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday in Google Drive.

The Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services will both be available on the YouTube channel of St. Michael's Lexington. Click here to subscribe to be notified when they go live.